Doctor Who (Matt Smith) – Cold Blood, and Vincent and the Doctor

Rory (Arthur Darvill), Amy (Karen Gillan) and the Doctor (Smith) have their hands full this week as we dive into the second part of the Silurian story that started last week with The Hungry Earth.

Cold Blood was written by Chris Chibnall and first aired on 29 May, 2010.

The Time Lord is going underground to rescue his Companion who was grabbed by the Silurians at the climax of last week’s episode. We are also reminded that the Silurian were the original inhabitants of the planet and that there are more of them under the Earth than the Doctor expected.

Of course, Amy finds a way to free herself, and starts her own exploration of the Silurian underground, all while Rory is left on the surface trying to solve a mystery of his own.

With the fear of a war about to break out between humans and Silurians things are especially tense. Things get even worse when the Silurian on the surface ends up dead…

The Doctor doesn’t get to save everything this time around, and there are sacrifices made, and choices made by other characters that end up bringing about the story’s resolution, and I think it’s done fairly well.

There’s also a tie in with the season arc when the Doctor and his friends discover a crack in space-time that has a connection to the TARDIS, and poor Rory!!

That moment really breaks the heart, and it’s done so brilliantly and hurts so beautifully.

Vincent and the Doctor – could there be an episode with a better ending than this one?

This episode was written by Richard Curtis and aired on 5 June 2010. It features Tony Curran as Van Gogh, and features Bill Nighy as a museum curator, Dr. Black.

When the Doctor sees what he believes is an alien in one of Van Gogh’s paintings, he and Amy travel back in time to meet the painter, and discover the truth about the creature. This side of the story rather bland, but what is really fantastic is Curran’s performance, and that ending.

Moving forward from the truth that Van Gogh never knew of the fame and love with which he is seen, the story goes from there, while also being honest in its presentation of his mental illness as the painter suffered from depression.

The final moments of the episode are simply brilliant as the Doctor and Amy bring Van Gogh to the present to hear Dr. Black speak about his effect on art and the world. It’s undeniably moving, and if I’m completely honest, makes me cry every time.

I love the look of this episode, many of the sets for the episode are designed to look like a number of the master’s paintings.

Next week, things are a lot of fun as the Doctor moves in with James Corden in The Lodger.